Reviewed by Steven Whitehead

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) was acknowledged to be one of the finest organists of his day, a fact born out by the young Johann Sebastian Bach taking unpaid leave to go and hear the great man. There is, of course, no record of his skill as a performer which is a shame as one has to say his work as a composer is of less interest. A quick glance at the Buxtehude discography shows that many collections of his instrumental work are, rightly, still in print. His vocal music is, sadly, less admirable. This re-release of a disc first issued by Decapo in 2001 is only 51 minutes long and this paltry amount is padded out by almost nine minutes of a Magnificat of "doubtful authenticity". So much for the cons. What can we list on the pro side? The performances are, in my opinion, of more interest than the composition so all praise to the Copenhagen Royal Chapel Choir, The Duffay Collective, the Conductor Ebbe Munk, and the featured soloist, the Danish bass-baritone Johan Reuter. Also on the plus side is the usual Naxos super-budget price. Worth hearing? Yes. Worth buying? There are so many better Baroque vocal collections out there that one would have to say no.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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